AEIAG0025

Written evidence submitted by the Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD)

Whether the current system of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is serving young people

All of the available evidence suggests that careers education, information, advice and guidance is not serving young deaf people; rather, it is failing them. For instance, a recent national survey of ours has shown that:

 

  

 

 

These results are damning, and suggest that many deaf people have never had access to careers advice in their first or preferred language. What’s more, of those who did receive careers advice at school, it is clear that their advisors took a largely dismissive view of their career ambitions. It is therefore sadly unsurprising that the career aspirations of young deaf people are lower than those of their hearing peers, as has been reported by the likes of the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS).[2] 

 

A number of factors have contributed to the inadequacy of careers advice for young deaf people. For instance, a lack of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding for mainstream schools has resulted in many deaf pupils receiving inaccessible careers advice (i.e. which is not provided in BSL), whilst a lack of Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs) and specialist (deaf) careers advisors means that deaf pupils are not getting the communication support they need; nor do they have positive role models to look up to.

On a related point, we would suggest that careers advice generally starts too late for young people: often it is given in Year 9, when pupils are about to choose their GCSEs – a pivotal point in determining a young person’s future – whereas a better approach might be for schools to offer ‘soft’ careers advice in the transition between primary and secondary school, giving young people more time to formulate their own views.

As a further corollary, it is important that careers advice is complimented with appropriate (and accessible) work experience opportunities. Unfortunately, for most deaf pupils this is not a positive experience: many are put on work placements that are inaccessible, without appropriate communication support, and are simply expected to ‘learn to cope’. This is completely unacceptable and sets a lasting negative impression of the workplace for young deaf people. However, this situation can be improved by providing schools and colleges with the necessary funding, skills and awareness to link up with local deaf communities and organisations in their area – creating opportunities for young deaf people to take part in accessible and fruitful work placements. For instance, this might involve initiatives whereby young deaf individuals are ‘paired up’ with adult members of their local deaf community, who work in a sector that is of interest to them.

In sum, we would recommend the following policies as ways of improving access to careers advice for deaf people:

  1. More and better careers advice and guidance for deaf people of all ages, but particularly young deaf people, with this advice tailored to ensure appropriate career pathways[3]

 

  1. Careers advice and guidance for deaf pupils needs to be provided by specialist organisations, in BSL

 

  1. The Government should consider extending the Access to Work scheme to cover school work experience/placements; or put in place a dedicated pot of funding that enables deaf pupils to access BSL interpreters, via their school/temporary employer, where needed

 

Whether and how the Government should bring responsibility for CEIAG under one body, for example a National Skills Service, to take overall responsibility for CEIAG for all ages, and how this might help young people navigate the CEIAG system.

It would seem appropriate for careers advice and guidance to be provided under a single umbrella body, to ensure consistency in policy and practice. Should any such body be established, however, it is crucial that signposting to specialist careers advice is made clear and accessible – with the body working closely with specialist organisations to ensure the provision of accessible careers advice, information and materials. RAD would be happy to assist with the development of any careers advice, training or materials for young deaf people.

 

Whether such a National Skills Service is best placed in the Department for Education or the Department of Work and Pensions to avoid duplication of work.

As per our previous suggestion, it is often the case that careers advice is given to young people at a point where they are already likely to have made big decisions regarding their future, and perhaps comes too late. As such, it would seem appropriate for a National Skills Service to sit within the Department for Education, where policy is focused on a younger demographic. That said, many working-age individuals will continue to seek careers advice throughout their adult life and may receive support and signposting via the welfare state (e.g. Jobcentre Plus), so it is crucial that a joined-up approach is taken between DfE and DWP.

 

Whether organisations like the Careers Enterprise Company and National Careers Service provide value for money to the taxpayer.

As a national deaf charity, we do not believe the National Careers Service has served the deaf community adequately. In our experience, we have found it to be largely inaccessible for deaf people. What’s more, the National Careers Service website is not accessible for deaf people (e.g. information, videos and materials are not BSL translated), whilst there does not appear to be a BSL accessible advice line.

Moving forward, it is essential that the National Careers Service is adequately funded and resourced, and that it actively seeks out partnerships with specialist organisations to ensure that its careers information and advice hub is accessible to all groups, and not just a mainstream audience.

 

How schools could be supported to better fulfil their duties to provide careers advice and inform students of technical, as well as academic, pathways.

- How the Baker Clause could be more effectively enforced

- How the Government can ensure more young people have access to a professional and independent careers advisor and increase the take-up of the Lifetime Skills initiative

As already mentioned previously, it is our experience that mainstream schools do not meet the needs of deaf pupils when it comes to appropriate and accessible careers advice. To this end, we do not believe the Baker Clause (or the Gatsby Benchmarks, for that matter) have improved access to careers advice for deaf pupils; rather, our experience of working with schools suggests that the Baker Clause is largely considered as a ‘nice to have’, and is treated as little more than a tick-box exercise. As most deaf pupils continue to receive careers advice that is not accessible to them, this would suggest that the Baker Clause is falling short and is failing to fulfil its original intention.

As a further observation, careers advice is often given midway through secondary school, which is reflected by the fact that the Baker Clause only relates to Years 8-13. By extending the Clause to cover younger students, children would be given a greater head start when it comes to accessing careers advice.

March 2022

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[1] Deaf Advance: Deaf people, employment and career progression (RAD, 2021): https://www.royaldeaf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/DeafAdvance-Report.pdf

[2] Deaf Works Everywhere (NDCS, 2020): https://www.ndcs.org.uk/media/5665/dwe-yab-report.pdf 

[3] In schools, for instance, educators and careers advisors need to be mindful of the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance, and in particular Benchmark 3: Addressing the needs of each pupil (“a school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout”): https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance